Subjects

Genre:

Spatial Coverage:

Notes

Scope and Content:

Correspondence, business account notebooks, official marriage, deed, estate records, and a manuscript memoir. Collection includes family correspondence ranging from James I in 1884 to James III in 1882, the bulk (3 boxes) of which chronicles the business and personal affairs of James III. Major subjects covered include the Second Seminole War in Florida, the Civil War, the Andersonville Prison in Georgia, and business operations characteristic of the nineteenth century. Other topics include yellow fever outbreaks in Florida, frontier life in north Florida, Spanish land grant claims, and family history. Researchers may find the ongoing, regular correspondence between James III and McNaught useful for topics relating to business practices of the period. Of particular note is the handwritten autobiography of James III, dictated in the year before his death. The collection is arranged chronologically.

Abstract:

The collection includes correspondence, business letters, account books, and a memoir manuscript created by members of the Ormond family of Florida.

Biographical:

Captain James Ormond I (175?-1819), born in Scotland, commanded the brig Somerset. He owned a plantation on Exuma in the Bahamas, but then took advantage of Spanish land grants in Florida. He settled near New Smyrna, Florida, where he was later killed by a neighbor's slave. James Ormond II (179?-1829), also born in Scotland, came to Florida with his wife, Isabella (neé Christie), and their four children after a failed business venture. They lived on the Damietta plantation, near St. Augustine, Florida. James Ormond III (1815-1892) was born in Mayfield, Scotland. During the Second Seminole War, he volunteered in the Mosquito Roarers militia as a sergeant. Ormond married Elizabeth Chaires in 1844, with whom he had nine children. His business ventures included the Atlanta Paper Mill, one of the first paper mill operations in the South and other enterprises with his partner William McNaught. During the Civil War, Ormond worked as an adjutant at Andersonville Prison. He moved his family to Canada and England after the war, returning to Atlanta in 1867. He later came back to Florida and settled near the remains of his former plantation, Damietta. The town of Ormond, named for him, was incorporated in 1880. Source: "James Ormond, Merchant and Soldier," by Alice Strickland, The Florida Historical Quarterly, (41):209-222

Preferred Citation:

Identification of item, Ormond Family Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Donation:

Gift of Ms. Bettie Massengale Edwards, 1979.

Record Information

Source Institution:

University of Florida

Rights Management:

All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.

Subjects

Genre:

Spatial Coverage:

Notes

Scope and Content:

Correspondence, business account notebooks, official marriage, deed, estate records, and a manuscript memoir. Collection includes family correspondence ranging from James I in 1884 to James III in 1882, the bulk (3 boxes) of which chronicles the business and personal affairs of James III. Major subjects covered include the Second Seminole War in Florida, the Civil War, the Andersonville Prison in Georgia, and business operations characteristic of the nineteenth century. Other topics include yellow fever outbreaks in Florida, frontier life in north Florida, Spanish land grant claims, and family history. Researchers may find the ongoing, regular correspondence between James III and McNaught useful for topics relating to business practices of the period. Of particular note is the handwritten autobiography of James III, dictated in the year before his death. The collection is arranged chronologically.

Abstract:

The collection includes correspondence, business letters, account books, and a memoir manuscript created by members of the Ormond family of Florida.

Biographical:

Captain James Ormond I (175?-1819), born in Scotland, commanded the brig Somerset. He owned a plantation on Exuma in the Bahamas, but then took advantage of Spanish land grants in Florida. He settled near New Smyrna, Florida, where he was later killed by a neighbor's slave. James Ormond II (179?-1829), also born in Scotland, came to Florida with his wife, Isabella (neé Christie), and their four children after a failed business venture. They lived on the Damietta plantation, near St. Augustine, Florida. James Ormond III (1815-1892) was born in Mayfield, Scotland. During the Second Seminole War, he volunteered in the Mosquito Roarers militia as a sergeant. Ormond married Elizabeth Chaires in 1844, with whom he had nine children. His business ventures included the Atlanta Paper Mill, one of the first paper mill operations in the South and other enterprises with his partner William McNaught. During the Civil War, Ormond worked as an adjutant at Andersonville Prison. He moved his family to Canada and England after the war, returning to Atlanta in 1867. He later came back to Florida and settled near the remains of his former plantation, Damietta. The town of Ormond, named for him, was incorporated in 1880. Source: "James Ormond, Merchant and Soldier," by Alice Strickland, The Florida Historical Quarterly, (41):209-222

Preferred Citation:

Identification of item, Ormond Family Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Donation:

Gift of Ms. Bettie Massengale Edwards, 1979.

Record Information

Source Institution:

University of Florida

Rights Management:

All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.

n ORMONDh THE HALIFAX
Is the most enterprising town on the Halifax,
and is heafirt reached t i he t. St. HR'y. l a tropical lagoon along the Atlantic shore of
It has an excellent school, handsome church Voluala Conary, South Florida, whence most
and good stores. Shade trees are set on all the rf the "Indian R. Oranges" are chipped. It is
streets, and good water Is abundant. It Is the trhe y h S H i
only town that has a bridgeacross the Balfiax. lest reached by the St. J. & H. R'y, Palatka
thus giving easy access to the Ocean beach. It to Ormond, 2 hours' ride.
is the only town on the Halifax with a thor.
roughly fiarst-class hotel-"The Ormond," open
Jan. 1. 1888.
Its oranges took three of the principal prem-
lums and medals at the New Orleans Exposi-
tion, and at the South Florida Exposition In f'
Orlando, February, 1887, the greatest display t/ i "'Zcg t- C
ever made In Florida, it captured the two ..
most important premiums for orange growers
(those for best collections of fifteen and of
twenty varieties', and about one-fourth of all .
the indlvidual premiums; andout of the hun-
dreds sampled, the orange ranking highest
was from Ormond.

1 4 ORMONDN
Is the most enterprising town on the Halifax,
and is the first reachedby the St. J. & H. R'y.
It has an excellent school, handsome church
and good stores. Shade trees are set on all the
streets, and good water is abundant. It is the
only town that has a bridge across the Halifax.
thus giving easy access to the Ocean beach. It
is the only town on the Halifax with a thor-
oughly flrst-class hotel--"The Ormond," open
Jan. 1, 1888.
Its oranges took three of the principal prem-
iums and medals at the New Orleans Exposi-
tion, and at the South Florida Exposition in
Orlando, February, 1887, the greatest display
ever made in Florida, it captured the two
most important premiums for orange growers
(those for best collections of fifteen and of
twenty varieties) and about one-fourth of all
the individual premiums; and out of the hun-
dreds sampled, the orange ranking highest
was from Ormond.
-f^^

t^ y

'J) _l,

-- THE HALIFAX
]La tropical lagoon along the Atlantic shore of
Volusla County, South Florida, whence most
of ibe "Indian R. Oranges" are shipped. It is
best reached by the St. J. & H. R'y, Palatka
l. Ormond, 2 hours' ride.